Stillness and Stars
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: Rex is taken back to where the Stillness comes from. This time, he learns so much more than he would have ever thought possible. Brex. Takes place after Lions and Lambs.


**Okay, guys. Before you even START, I gotta say this: I was able to see Six Minus Six and Lions and Lambs early. This story takes place afterward. If you haven't seen the new episodes yet, DON'T READ THIS! It has spoilers and you won't understand it! I'll give you people who don't want spoilers a moment to leave...**

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**Anyhoo, Lions and Lambs was the most beautiful episode I've ever seen. Brex is my OTP now. Holix is now second place permanently. This story has Breach taking Rex back to where the Stillness comes from. This time, he learns a little more... Enjoy! ^_^**

REX'S POV

Rex stared fixedly at the sky. Soon after his meeting with Black Knight, he had bolted from the premises. 'Six months...' He dragged his feet through the darkening sands of the evening desert. 'At least the land is still the same.'

The sun was setting red, gold, pink, and violet on the horizon, painting a mosaic on the sands with its multicolored light and with the shadows from the distant hills. The faintest of breezes ruffled Rex's inky hair and his wrinkled jacket. Overhead, the cries of eagles and hawks echoed down to earth as they circled overhead, blissfully unaware of the turmoil beneath, thinking only about their next meal. A great pillar of twilight stretched out over the landscape as the Providence building loomed at its head.

A tiny piece of sandstone sat on the crusty earth. Rex kicked it halfheartedly and turned his attention from the fading sky to the blackening earth. 'Black...' He scrunched his eyes shut as thoughts of that woman seared his mind. There was something wrong with her, something dreadfully wrong.

She had acted nice, offering Rex snacks and speaking kindly and calmly. That was the problem. She sounded like one of those High School guidance counselors that Noah often complained about. 'Noah...' Black Knight hadn't told Rex a thing; not where Noah was, where Six was, where Holiday was, where Bobo was, where White was, or what had changed. She had simply smiled and nodded to all of Rex's questions and statements, constantly assuring him that "Everything's going to be fine.".

'Like heck it is!' Rex thought venomously. 'This woman...she's not good. She's not like White... White was a jerk, but he wasn't hiding anything. We all knew who he was, what his morals were, and what he wanted to do, even if he was completely wrong. Black...she just seems so...sinister.'

A vulture flew over his head, intent on the corpse of some unfortunate creature somewhere else in the desert. Rex watched it as it flew, its haggard wings pumping tirelessly at the air while its bald neck stretched forward in anticipation. He sat down on the warm ground. 'And why is Caesar here when no one else is?' Ugly questions surfaced in his mind, questions that challenged his brother's positive standing. 'No!' He clamped down on the thoughts before they could blossom. 'He's all I have for now. If I don't trust Caesar, I'm doomed!'

'Then again, I'm pretty doomed anyway...' When he brought his gloved hands away from his face, they were wet with tears. 'Great. I'm crying now.' He brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them. He wanted Holiday. He wanted Six, the Six that would put a hand on his shoulder and tell him to take this change like a man, while giving him that slight smile/eyebrow raise. He wanted his friends, his family, everyone. Caesar was practically an alien to him when compared to the others. Besides, he wasn't the most comforting person to be around under normal circumstances. 'What can I do...?'

He sat there in silence as evening slowly faded into night. When he looked up again, the first stars were beginning to peek through the dark canopy and send their light to the earth. The moon was a thin crescent, providing little comfort. 'I suppose I should get back...' Breathing a tired sigh, Rex got to his feet and turned to look toward his home, which was now as foreign as anything in this time, and found himself facing a red and black vortex.

"Breach!" His voice cracked with relief as the four-armed Evo stepped through her portal and looked up at him. "You're okay!" It was funny: A few days ago, the idea of being relieved to see Breach would have been crazy. Now, however, it seemed to be the biggest blessing possible.

"I took us far away, didn't I." She whispered.

Rex ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. We've been gone for six months." He tilted his head at Breach. "What happened to you? You weren't there when I came to."

"I was sent somewhere else." Breach explained as the portal closed behind her. "Somewhere not here. I didn't go there." She nodded toward the white building. "It's bad there, worse than before. It's not right."

"I know." Rex looked up at the ebony and navy sky. "At least we're alive."

"Maybe we're not. Maybe this is all a dream." Breach folded her arms. "Maybe it's a dream within a dream. We may be dead and this is our punishment. Then again, we may not even be here at all."

"Can you take us back, Breach?" Rex cut in. "Can you do another portal thing and take us back?"

Breach bowed her head. "My time portals are broken. Permanently." She pulled the gold mechanism from her body as if it was a piece of foil. It was tattered and ripped so much, it looked more like a robotic toy that had been run over by a pickup truck.

"Oh..." Rex breathed a disappointed sigh. 'There goes that dream.' Still, even if it was possible to use the machine, he would have still been hesitant. Breach's screams of pain from back in Abysus were still echoing in his head.

"It's not like it matters anyway." Breach dragged her finger through the sand, making a squiggly line. "This isn't real, so six months ago wouldn't be real either. It's all the same."

"No...six months ago was real." Rex wrapped his arms around himself as the first chill of night began to take hold. "It's this time that isn't real. I don't know what's going on, where anyone is, or anything else. Right now, you're the most real thing here."

These words caused Breach to look up. "I can take you back, if you want. Back to where it _is_ real."

"What?" Rex looked at the golden mechanical mess that now sat on the sand. "I thought you said it was broken..."

"I'm not taking you _there_." Breach waved a hand impatiently. "I'm taking you back to where it's _real_."

"I...don't..." Rex blinked stupidly.

With a groan of exasperation, Breach grabbed his hand and drew him to her, wrapping her arms around him as she had done before. A portal engulfed their embracing forms.

When Rex opened his eyes, he was staring at a sea of stars. "Oh. Here..." He looked down at his feet, which were on a solid surface, making rings on a millimeter-thin screen of water. The stars overhead and his own body were reflected perfectly on the water, making it seem like Rex was standing on a mirror, like he was some weird teenage Alice preparing to go through the Looking Glass. "Why are we here again?"

"You didn't look at it enough the first time." Breach took a few steps forward. "You said you wanted to understand, but you don't yet."

Rex opened his mouth to ask her to take him back home. Then, he stopped. Providence wasn't his home anymore. He didn't know how many of his friends were waiting for him. 'I guess I have nothing to lose by hanging here for awhile.' As he realized this, he allowed himself to look around. 'I guess this place is kinda cool...when you aren't freaking out over what's going to happen next.' "_What_ do I need to understand?"

"That none of it matters." Breach stared off at a star in the distance, one that was brighter than the others. "In the end, nothing we do is real or important."

"Okay... One, I don't believe that. Two, how does a sea of stars and a floor covered in water tell me this?"

"It's not water." Breach knelt down. "It's something else." To Rex's shock, she dipped her hand into the fluid, as if it was a deep pool instead of a shallow film. "What it is isn't important. The fact that it _is_...that's what matters." When she stood up, her cupped large palm was filled with a pearly silver substance. Slowly, she turned her hand over. As the aqueous material dripped from her palm and onto the ground, it made an odd sound. Each drop sounded like the feathery song of a wind chime. A cool vapor rose from the spot where the liquid fell, temporarily wrapping around Breach like a bluish white shawl.

Curious, Rex knelt down. The ground was as solid as a tile floor. The first thing he noticed was that his knees weren't getting wet from kneeling in the strange film. Slowly, he reached out with his hand only to be stopped by Breach's.

"Take off your gloves. It isn't real unless you feel it for yourself."

Rex withdrew his hand and peeled his gloves off. When he placed them on the ground next to him, they didn't sink. Then, hesitantly, he plunged his hand into the ground. It passed through as if it was gel. Yet, it didn't feel like gel or liquid. It simply felt like air. The air was a colder temperature, giving the only indication of the change in state. He cupped his palm and pulled it back out, eying the substance that rested there. It made him think of what a melted mirror would look like. He could see one of his mahogany eyes reflecting off of the surface. He started to bring his hand to his lips, looking up once at Breach. When she didn't stop him, he allowed the liquid to trickle into his mouth.

It tasted like ice. It made him feel cold all over. He shivered violently as it traveled down his throat, freezing his innards as it went. Then, the chill melted into an intense heat. His tongue and chest were burning. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped. "Wh-Why'd you let me do that?" He sputtered.

Breach, despite her companion's panic, was calm. "It wouldn't have hurt you. It's good for you to learn about it." She stood up. "Every minute means you're closer to understanding the Stillness."

"What _is_ the Stillness?" Rex grumbled, standing up. He felt his throat with his hand. Nothing hurt. In fact, he felt very refreshed, as if he had just eaten an entire basket of fresh fruit. It was like his skin was glowing, though it wasn't. 'Weird...'

"It's the end. It's the beginning. It's everything. It's nothing." Breach turned away to look at the large star once more. "It's where we'll all go eventually. We'll become a part of it. Nothing else matters. No matter what we do, this is our original home and our final destination."

"Huh." Rex looked up. "Well, I guess there are worse places to be than a field of stars."

"We won't be _in_ the field like we are now." Breach said. "We'll be a _part_ of it." She pointed toward the stars. "We'll join them."

Rex looked up. "What will we do then?"

"We'll add our voices to the Stillness. We'll make it better with our song."

"O...kay..." Rex folded his arms. "I don't hear any singing. And how would we sing if we're part of...this?" He waved his arms in a general gesture. "We won't be able to do anything."

"We'll all be together. We'll be light and sound, which reaches everywhere. We'll sing to each other and shine through the darkness, never moving, always being." She took another handful of the silvery substance, allowing it to fall again, slowly this time, so that each drop landed one by one.

When Rex listened closely, he realized that each drop had a different tone. "Each drop...that's a voice, isn't it?"

For the first time, Breach smiled. "Yes. Each drop is a voice. Each star is a light." She dropped the rest of the liquid, causing a symphony of frosty bells to ring and another wisp of dancing fog to rise. "In the end, that's all that matters. That's the only thing that's real. Everything else will fade, but this will always be. That's why we don't need to worry about anything else."

Rex turned his gaze from the floor to Breach's face. 'That's why she's so resigned...' "Breach...the other world is real too. If it wasn't, why weren't we just put here to begin with?"

Breach tilted her head. This was clearly a new idea for her.

"If the other world isn't real, then we should have just been made as light and sound in the first place. There's something we need to do on Earth, Breach. We need to live before we come here. We need to fulfill some purpose first."

"Maybe..." Breach frowned, trying to contemplate these words.

When it became obvious that Breach was deep in thought, Rex turned his attention to the sky above him. He didn't recognize any of the constellations. The stars didn't seem to have any order. Some were placed in clusters while others sat by themselves in the darkest bits of sky. 'Is there a difference?' He wondered. 'Are the solitary stars the spirits of those who were evil during their lives or who failed to do what they were meant to do? Are the clusters really families or groups of friends? Or does it not matter?' "Either way, it seems like a raw deal." He muttered aloud.

"Why?" Breach asked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"I don't think I can handle just being light and sound for the rest of eternity. I won't be able to do anything. I won't be able to talk to anyone, hang out, or...do anything." He shook his head. "I'll just exist and sing a song that only the other stars will care about. It seems kinda bleak."

"You aren't looking at it right." Breach smiled knowingly. "It's wonderful."

"Hmph..."

"Let me show you. Close your eyes and let go." When he did, Breach stepped forward. "This is the first step. Don't think about sight."

"So, I won't be able to see. Wonderful..." Rex grumbled.

"Don't talk. Listen."

"When do I sing?" He asked sarcastically.

Breach sighed in exasperation. "Your song is already being sung. You _are_. Therefore, you sing. Now just listen."

Rex listened. At first, he heard nothing. 'This is pointless. It's like I'm practicing dying. That's just depressing...'

Then, a few seconds later, a sound entered his consciousness, as light and flighty as a dandelion seed on the wind. It was a note that was soft and warm, sharp and icy. It pierced his soul before soothing the wounds instantly. It purred. It roared. It sang. A smile began tug at the corners of his mouth. The stars were singing to him.

His skin became hyper-aware of everything around him. The air was pulsing silent signals onto his flesh and through his clothes. He sensed the stars, the liquid underfoot, and the presence of Breach a few inches away. Then, her presence moved closer. Closer. Closer... Her body touched his as her arms wrapped softly around his middle. He instinctively brought his own arms up to cradle her against him.

His eyes were still closed. He could feel every place where he and Breach touched. It was as if they were melding together. They were communicating every word that needed to be said without speaking. 'Our songs.' He realized. 'Our songs are commingling... That's what it will feel like...with everyone...' A gentle, petal-soft sensation brushed against his lips. 'No...it feels different...with everyone...' He leaned toward the softness, answering Breach's silent question.

He was aware of her scent. She smelled of white carnations, sand, and wind. Her lips were warm and tender as they enveloped his, transmitting their message loud and clear with each brush. Rex sighed quietly and tilted his head, giving his answer in the form of a soothing hum. He felt warm and safe all over. Breach's presence melted into his. They were one and the same. All that existed was their connection, their touches, the barely-there sounds that they made as their clothing moved another centimeter, their lips a millimeter. At the same time, Rex could hear the singing of the stars take on a different tone. They were adjusting to the song he and Breach were putting into the air, adding their own voices to the mix, happy to be singing something new and different.

Breach eventually moved her lips from Rex's and rested her head comfortably on his chest. He could feel his heart thumping gently against her cheek. It didn't even occur to him to be sad that the kiss was over. This simple act of holding and being held was every bit as intimate and wonderful. The stars still continued to sing their approval. There was really no difference between the two actions.

"See?" Breach's child-like voice broke into the ethereal melody that surrounded the pair. "It's beautiful."

Rex didn't want to break this spell, so he didn't speak or open his eyes. He simply nestled his face into Breach's soft hair, hugging her closer as a sign of affirmation. His mind began to drift away from his troubles, from the noises that awaited him in the other world. That wasn't important now. It wasn't real.

All that was real was him, Breach, and this song that continued to play into and beyond eternity.

**I was truly speechless at the end of this episode. I KNOW this isn't the last we've seen of Breach. She WILL be back. And...just...wow, MOA. You really outdid yourself. Breach is your best character and this episode was your crowning achievement. That's all I have to say. Peace out.**


End file.
